After finishing his chemical education (HBO) he started working as a R&D chemist and applications laboratory group leader. Later in his career he also finished an executive MBA in strategic marketing/general management. Getting in contact with customers and the market he decided to give his career a commercial twist and since then he has been working at the edge of sales, marketing and technical service, including a position at Cabot as technical service manager. In these positions he also gained a lot of international carbon black experience. He has been working for over 35 years in ink & coating related industries.

Berry has a background in Operations with multiple manufacturing companies in the Netherlands. At Black Bear he is the driving force in customer sample preparation and helping the R&D team to make formulations and experiment. His nickname within Black Bear is ‘BlackBerry’.

Bianca is the Office Manager at Black Bear Carbon. Bianca is responsible for finance, personnel and subsidies administration. The variation of tasks within Black Bear gives her the challenge that she needs to keep on improving her own skills. She brings to Black Bear her previous experiences in setting up administrations for small/start-up companies in relation to subsidies. With her organisation and structuring skills she makes sure that an organisation is well organized. And, of course, she does everything without losing her cool.

Chris has over 30 years’ experience in the rubber industry and has worked in capacities of technical, production and general management in the South African rubber industry. In 2006 he joined DSM Elastomers as a rubber technical expert. His knowledge of carbon black and his in-depth understanding of customer needs ensure Black Bear’s focus on producing products that the market requires. He is also responsible for product innovation and IP strategy.

Dion graduated from the Hanzehogeschool in Groningen as a chemical engineer. Before his studies, he lived in Suriname for 19 years. Throughout his study, Dion was inspired by the quote: ‘’vertrouwen in eigen kunnen’’ (“confidence in your own ability”). Before working at Black Bear Carbon, he did his final internship at Ingenia BV. After graduating he was asked to prove his own abilities at Black Bear Carbon.

Floris graduated from Delft University of Technology with a MSc degree in Applied Physics, majoring in Sustainable Energy Technology. The first 5 years of his career he was a process engineer at Fluor, after which he switched to a fine chemicals production facility in Rotterdam as a project manager. In 2017 Floris started an executive MBA at the Rotterdam School of Management. In 2018 he started at Black Bear Carbon, managing the operations of the plant in Nederweert. After finishing his MBA in early 2019, Floris made the move towards Business Development. Floris is passionate about sustainable energy and the circular economy.

Frank has over 25 years of experience in the Carbon Black industry. He has started as a laboratory chemist in the QC/QM lab from Orion Engineered Carbons where he also moved towards R&D work. Later on, Frank grew a passion for coloristic and colorimetric at the application laboratory. He became an expert for 3 DIN and 3 ISO committees and that's how he grew into the role of Technical Market Manager. After Frank discovered the enjoyment of customer contact he became Sales and Product Manager at Azelis and Phillips Carbon Black. Frank joined Black Bear in 2019 and here his responsibilities are also centered around Sales and Product management.

Geert started his career at McKinsey & Co after which he worked for various companies in executive positions (DAF Trucks, Academic Hospital Utrecht, Eneco Energy Company, Egeria Private Equity) mainly in Finance, Strategy and Operations. Within his last position he was MD for Van Gansewinkel Netherlands. Within Black Bear he is responsible for finance, logistics and quality control.

Hugo holds an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Eindhoven University of Technology. His thesis on oil-water separation formed the base of a startup at which he started his career. He spent the next ten years developing new technologies in water treatment and managing projects in the oil & gas industry. After spending 3 years in the USA, where he worked for a 3D-printer manufacturer, he returned to the Netherlands where he joined Black Bear Carbon in 2019. Within Black Bear, Hugo is responsible for the engineering projects.

Ide has a MSc in Chemical Engineering at the University of Technology in Enschede. Before starting at Black Bear Carbon, Ide worked at several industry-leading service providers as an R&D engineer, project engineer, and project manager. During these positions he worked on developing waste to energy and waste to oil projects, from which his enthusiasm for Black Bear originated. The foundation for safety practices and proper engineering structures was set when Ide started a small engineering department at the Shell refinery in the Rotterdam area where he worked for 4 years as an engineering manager.

Jan started his own companies in China in 1991, both international technical businesses in the waste management sector that continue to operate successfully. Jan, together with Ronald, initiated a process of reusing waste tires in a meaningful way in 2010. Jan manages Black Bear’s commercial relationships, its partnerships with other industry players, and relations with governments.

Jeroen graduated from the Delft University of Technology with a MSc degree in Construction Management and Engineering. In 2013 he started his career as a risk manager at the infrastructure department of Fluor. After two years he moved to Vietnam to manage a start-up for the development of a chain of boutique hotels. Since January 2018 he is responsible for project controls, project management and financial matters of current and future projects at Black Bear. When not working, Jeroen enjoys football every week and playing his guitar so now and then.

Joost is our mechanical engineer, with a specialization in Dynamics. After his master thesis project in a nuclear power plant in France, he worked for two years as an consultant with Newton Europe Ltd. in the UK. On his return to the Netherlands he worked at the Valorization Centre of the Delft University of Technology bringing technology to the market in the form of partnerships, start-ups and selling off IP to large companies. At the university he also started teaching mechanics. At Black Bear Carbon he is Project Lead and supporting the teams on mechanical challenges.

Joost holds a B.SC. in Mechanical Engineering from the Hogeschool Groningen and worked for Fluor, a Fortune 500 company that delivers engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and project management to clients around the world. In 2003, Joost founded Worx Project Management & Consultancy and operates on projects across commercial and industrial environments. Within Black Bear, Joost is responsible for integrating the activities of engineering, procurement and construction functions as well as managing all (sub) contractor activities.

Maarten is the youngest cub of our family. Maarten is finishing his Bachelor’s degree in International Business at Maastricht University with a major in Marketing. As part of that programme he also spent a semester studying at the Sun-Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China. He started as an intern at Black Bear in July 2018 and has decided to stick around a little longer. Within Black Bear, Maarten works in Marketing & Business Development.

Marc has been involved in Black Bear since June 2016 and performs CAD works for all projects. As an all-round Mechanical engineer Marc has over 25 years of experience realizing international projects in the Environmental Industry. Additionally to CAD works, he supports the engineering projects as work planner, to smoothen logistics, supply and execution performance. His passion for mountains leads him as often as possible to the Alps. Riding bicycles or getting to a summit are always great and beautiful challenges.

Maria is part of the Black Bear family since 2017. Before joining Black Bear she worked in similar roles for a municipality, a bank and technical companies. At present, she is a devoted support for our team on administrative matters, in which her accuracy, patience and eagerness to deliver high quality work are of major importance. Also she is taking care of logistic matters regarding the carbon black samples of our clients. In her spare time she loves gardening and reading books in Dutch, Spanish or English.

Entrepreneur and international executive. In the USA he built and grew a number of technology companies, all of which had successful exits. Returning to The Netherlands in 2008 Martijn has had strategy and M&A roles at large corporations. Martijn is responsible for setting company strategy and for getting the best out of team members. Martijn has a MSc degree in Applied Physics from TU Delft and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Nico graduated from Delft University of Technology with a MSc degree in Chemical En gineering. He worked at Fluor for a total of 10 years and has experience with all aspects concerning design and construction of process installations. He also has 4 years of operational experience when working at KPE refinery. In 2018 he started at Black Bear Carbon, where he is currently responsible for operational support and implementing design changes to the plant in Nederweert.

Niek graduated from the Hogeschool Zuyd in Heerlen as a Chemical Engineer. Before starting at Black Bear Carbon, Niek worked as production and process engineer where he gained experience in process design, process calculations and optimization of processes. In 2018 he started at Black Bear Carbon, where he is currently responsible for operational support and optimization of the plant in Nederweert.

Pieter graduated from Delft University of Technology with a MSc degree in Integrated Product Design. Before joining Black Bear, Pieter started his own industrial design company where he covers design-related aspects of various projects, from conceptualization to embodiment design. Within Black Bear he is responsible for Computer Aided Design and related engineering processes. Pieter enjoys driving his motorbike, flying airplanes and a good glass of wine afterwards.

Pieter worked at McKinsey & Co, after which he managed his own company in fraud investigation. Since 1994 Pieter worked with Kempen & Co, where he started the mergers & acquisitions practice and was managing director of Corporate Finance. Within Black Bear he is responsible for finance and relations with partners and clients.

Rick graduated from Hogeschool Rotterdam with a BSc degree for electrical and electronic engineering. After his study Rick worked 7.5 years for a large EPC contractor where he gained a lot of experience in various type of projects during design, detailed engineering and construction phase. Within Black Bear Rick is responsible for the Electrical, Instrumentation and Control system scope.

Ronald is a chemical engineer specialized in waste management. He is a co-founder and Managing Director of the engineering consultancy company Ingenia B.V. He has advised over twenty companies in green technologies and recycling projects. He is highly experienced in turn-key projects. Within the Black Bear team Ronald is responsible for all technical aspects and for executing the plant installation.

Sander holds a B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Fontys Hogeschool Eindhoven. After his study Sander worked in the field of recycling by designing and commissioning control systems for waste recycling plants all over the world. In his second job Sander gained broader skills in industrial automation in the fields of industry like chemical, food and machine control doing several projects in the Netherlands. Within Black Bear Sander is responsible for electrical and automation systems including software and SCADA. To be able to use his skills and be able to contribute to turn an environmental problem into usable product brought Sander to Black Bear.

Troy graduated from Maastricht University with MSc degrees in Human Decision Science and International Business. Before joining Black Bear Carbon, Troy worked 3.5 years for KPMG as a strategy consultant, where he mainly focused on M&A related assignments. Within Black Bear, Troy is responsible for business development and the organizational streamlining process of the Black Bear organization. Furthermore, Troy is passionate about soccer, skiing and traveling.

Koos was educated as an engineer at TU Delft and carries a bachelor’s degree from Erasmus school of economics. He worked 24 years for Philips in Consumer Electronics , mainly in Asia. In 1997, he followed the Executive Program at Wharton. In 1998 Koos joined the management of van Leeuwen Buizen where he became CEO in 2000. In 2007 he moved to the firm’s BoD. Later on, he expanded his impact by becoming part of the board at Ahrend, Koninklijke Smilde, Teijin Aramid, and Black Bear.

George carries an academic background in the field of Business Administration with degrees from Leiden University, Radboud University and Harvard Business School. He spent almost a decade fulfilling various positions at KLM after which he moved to Goodyear. Currently, George is a board member at Nokian Tyres and CEO at RCCS Waardetransport. In 2017 he became partner at 5square Committed Capital, one of Black Bear’s investors.

Jos is a mechanical engineer from TU Eindhoven. He has spent 35 years at DSM in various executive and presidential positions. Since 2008 he is Chairman at Limburg Ventures and in 2011 he also started as Chairman at the Board of Limburg Economic Development. He plays a similar role at the educational institution Arcus. Since 2014 he is a member of the Supervisory Board of Chemelot Ventures, one of Black Bear’s investors.

Rob is a chemical engineer from TU Delft and has worked both in the corporate, strategy consulting and start-up world of chemicals, process and water technology. Rob has held management positions at Akzo and Shell. He was also founder and CEO of KiOR. Rob completed the New Board Program at Neyenrode Business University. At this moment Rob is Senior Investment Manager at Capricorn, one of Black Bear’s investors.

Bert is a trained medical doctor with 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He fulfilled many executive roles at Boehringer Ingelheim. His latest executive position was interim CEO at STADA Arzneimittel. Since 2012 he is active in supervisory boards for start-ups, mostly in the pharma industry, Private Equity and Venture Capital funds.